Cocaine Cow Ship: How is drug smuggling taking place in Europe through ships carrying cows?

The world’s drug cartels are constantly smuggling in new ways. Now he has adopted such a method, which has surprised even the European officials. Hiding cocaine in large ships filled with cows and sending it to Europe. These ships are being called cocaine cow ships.

Thousands of cows are loaded in these ships, and due to their excreta, rot and smell, it becomes very difficult to inspect them. Police and customs officials do not even want to board these ships because the conditions are very bad. Because of this, cartels get the opportunity to secretly send large quantities of drugs.

Where are such ships run from?

According to the report of The Telegraph, such ships depart from Santos and Belen ports of Brazil, and Cartagena, Colombia. 8 thousand to 10 thousand cows are loaded on these at a time. These ships, about 200 meters long, are often 50 years old.

How is cocaine hidden?

These ships roam in different parts of South America or the Caribbean. On the way, small ships bring them consignments of cocaine. In one trip the ship picks up 4 to 10 tons of cocaine, which is worth millions of pounds. Drug packets are hidden in large grain silos and machinery parts of the ship.

Why don’t the police investigate these ships?

On these ships there are rotting cows, heaps of filth and an environment full of stink. Checking a large ship after unloading thousands of cows is difficult, expensive and time-consuming. Even sniffer dogs are not able to smell drugs because of the bad smell. Officials of the EU’s anti-narcotics agency MAOC-N say that these ships are like a bad experience for the police.

Drug cartels take advantage of this. These ships supply drugs to Europe via Antwerp (Belgium), Rotterdam (Netherlands). While crossing the Atlantic, the drug packets are tied to a GPS-equipped float and thrown into the sea. Fast boats pick them up and take them to Europe.

How many ships were captured?

In the last 18 years, Europe has captured only one such ship. In which Orion V in January 2023. 4,500 kg of cocaine was found in it. There were 1,750 cows on the ship. The smell was so terrible that people did not even want to go near the ship. Recently in Australia too, a case of cocaine smuggling through a ship carrying sheep came to light.